A Decade In-Review

Well here we are. We’re nearing the end of the Twenty-Tens. A decade of increasing global unrest, political polarization, climate change-related weather anomalies, CRISPR-babies, and Taylor Swift!

This year - 2019 - has been a great year for me. And this decade offers a lot to reflect on - within my own personal life and without. I’d like to kick off a new decade with a ‘mental flush’ of the events that resonated with me as defining the last 10 years.

Notable Events

2010

-The Affordable Care Act is signed into law.
-A 7.0 Mw earthquake devastates the country of Haiti, killing hundreds of thousands.
-The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, triggering an environmental crisis.
-President Obama repeals “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”.

2011

-World population exceeds 7 billion.
-Osama bin Laden killed by U.S. Special Forces in Pakistan.
-Egyptian revolution begins a series of protests and revolutions in what is referred to as the “Arab Spring”.

2012

-CRISPR can be used for targeted DNA cleavage.
-Higgs boson is detected at CERN.
-The whole Kony 2012 thing.
-The Mayan/Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar ends (21 December). Apocalypse begins.

2013

-Pope Francis succeeds Pope Benedict XVI.
-The Boston Marathon is bombed as runners cross the finish line, killing 3. Another is killed during the subsequent manhunt.
-The passing of Nelson Mandela.
-#BlackLivesMatter rises in the wake of the police-shooting deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner.

2014

-Russia annexes Crimea.
-Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
-The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
-Barack Obama wears a tan suit and people get upset?

2015

-Officials from 195 countries address climate change intervention in the Paris Climate Agreement.
-Same-sex marriage bans are struck down in all states after hearing in the Supreme Court.
-Charleston church shooting (and too many others). Mass shootings becoming commonplace.

2016

-Brexit.
-Russia’s interference in U.S. election.
-Donald Trump is elected president. Fuck.
-North Korea scales up nuclear tests.
-The Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida. 50 are killed.
-Gravity waves are detected.

2017

-Donald Trump assumes office. Michael Flynn almost immediately resigns as National Security Director, setting the tone for the presidency.
-Ronan Farrow’s reporting on the accounts of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual misconduct kicks off the #MeToo movement. Allegations against a series of high profile celebrities will follow (Bill Cosby, Kevin Spacey, Louis C.K., Matt Lauer)
-Solar eclipse occurs on my birthday! I observed it from an OfficeMax parking lot.
-58 people killed at a concert in Las Vegas in another mass shooting. This is one of many.
-Comey, Comey, Comey, Comey.

2018

-Trade war begins between U.S. and China.
-Trump administration enacts zero-tolerance family separation policy at the southern border, spearheaded by Senior Policy Advisor and sleepy-eyed White Nationalist, Stephen Miller.
-Democrats win back the House of Representatives.
-More shootings.

2019

-The Mueller Report and the impeachment of Donald Trump.
-World Cup victory for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team!
-More shootings. New Zealand enacts ban on military-style weapons.
-First all woman space walk. After an embarrassing NASA space-suit snafu.
-CRISPR-babies are born in China. Scientist He Jiankui sentenced to prison.
-Taylor Swift named Billboard Artist of the Decade. Debate ensues.

For Me - Notable Dates and Milestones

2010 - Truly nothing notable. Playing a lot of World of Warcraft.
Sometime in 2011 - Realize I should probably get my shit together and start thinking about college. Decide I want to be a psychiatrist.
31 October 2011 - Meet my future wife in the basement of my girlfriend’s house during a Halloween screening of Cabin Fever.
11 November 2011 - Wait in line for the midnight release of Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. My best friend and I were there for about four hours before anyone else showed up.
March? 2012 - Rejected from my hometown college/college of choice. I write an appeal letter.
April 2012 - Accepted to college of choice! University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. Go Blugolds!
June 2012 - Graduate from Chippewa Falls Senior Highschool (Chi-Hi).
December 2012 - Finish my first semester in college with a 4.0. Despite this, develop severe imposter syndrome. Spend a non-zero amount of time reassuring people that the world will not end on 21 Dec 2012.
December 2013 - Began my cancer research career with Dr. Thao Yang synthesizing peptides and doing 2D NMR. Change my major from Pre-Med Psychology to Pre-Med Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Start thinking about a career in neurosurgery.
March 2014 - First big research conference poster presentation. American Chemical Society meeting in Denver Colorado. Paper published in the Journal of Undergraduate Chemistry Research
June-July 2014 - Spend a month in Ecuador for a infectious disease research internship through Ohio University and the Tropical Disease Institute.
August 2014 - Wisdom teeth removed. Am officially an adult. In my post-surgical stupor, and in very quick succession, take a selfie with my nurse and reveal to my mother that my then-girlfriend and I have broken up.
September 2015 - Begin dating future-wife, Erin. She’s great.
June-August 2016 - Serve as peer mentor for a chemistry REU at UWEC.
June 2016 - Start rock climbing.
August 2016 - Decide to pursue a PhD instead of going to medical school
December 2016 - Graduate Cum Laude from UWEC. Wrapping up graduate school applications.
December 2016-June 2017 - Continuing my college job as a caregiver for survivors of traumatic brain injury.
July 2017 - Roadtrip with Erin to national parks in the western U.S. Get engaged.
August 2017 - Move to Madison, Wisconsin. Pursuing my PhD in UW-Madison’s Cellular and Molecular Pathology training program. Receive first T32.
November 2018 - Adopt an adorable Ratcha named Sassy.
January 2018 - Join Dr. Mark Burkard’s laboratory studying chromosomal instability in breast cancer.
August 2018 - First big experiment is a success.
December 2019 - First national research conference as PhD student at the American Society for Cell Biology meeting in San Diego.
February 2019 - Recieve second T32 through the UW Genomic Sciences Training Program.
July 2019 - Get married to Erin. She planned a hell of a party.
September 2019 - Begin working on first manuscript. Preparing for preliminary exam.
December 2019 - Genomic Sciences T32 is renewed. Submit NIH F31 application. Still waiting for preliminary exam. Scheduling issues.
31 December 2019 - Attend gigantic NYE party. We leave at 11:22 PM to ring in the New Year at home with our dog, Sassy.

The Decade in Data

Climate Change

#Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly
p1 <- ggplot(df2, aes(x = Year, y = Annual.anomaly)) + 
  annotate("rect", xmin = 2010, xmax = 2020, ymin = -Inf, ymax = Inf, alpha = 0.5, fill = "orange") +
  geom_line(lwd = 1) + 
  stat_smooth(method = "gam", formula = y~s(x,bs="cs"), col = "magenta", lty = 3, col = "grey22", lwd = 1.2, fullrange = TRUE, se = TRUE) + 
  labs(x = "Year", y = "Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly (°F)") + 
  xlim(c(1958,2100)) + 
  theme_pubclean() + 
  theme(panel.border = element_rect(colour = "black", fill=NA, size=0.8),
        axis.text.x = element_text(angle = 90, hjust = 1)) + 
  scale_x_continuous(breaks = seq(1960,2100, 10), limits = c(1958,2100))
  
#Atmospheric CO2 Concentration
p2 <- ggplot(monthly_in_situ_co2_mlo, aes(x = yearmonth, y = seasonally)) + 
  annotate("rect", xmin = 2010, xmax = 2020, ymin = -Inf, ymax = Inf, alpha = 0.5, fill = "orange") + 
  geom_line(lwd = 1) + 
  stat_smooth(method = "gam", formula = y~s(x,bs="cs"), col = "magenta", lty = 3, col = "grey22", lwd = 1.2, fullrange = TRUE, se = TRUE) +
  labs(y = "Atmosphere [CO2] (ppm)", x = "Year") + 
  xlim(c(1958,2100)) + 
  ylim(c(300,650)) +
  theme_pubclean() + 
  theme(panel.border = element_rect(colour = "black", fill=NA, size=0.8),
        axis.text.x = element_text(angle = 90, hjust = 1)) + 
  scale_x_continuous(breaks = seq(1960,2100, 10), limits = c(1958,2100))

ggarrange(p1, p2)

Google Search Trends